Library of Congress Online Catalog: Help Pages

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  SEARCHING:
  Basic Search Overview
  Keyword Searches:
  - Keyword
  - Title Keyword
  - Author/Creator
  - Subject Keyword
  - Name/Title
  - Series/Uniform Title
  Other Searches:
  - Expert Search
  - Title Begins With
  - Author/Creator Browse
  - Subject Browse
  - Call No. Browse (LC)
  - Call No. Browse (Other)
  - Number Search
  - Author Sorted by Title
  Guided Search


  Limiting Searches
  Search History
  Boolean Searching

  INDEX CODES:
  for Guided Searches
  for Expert Searches

  SEARCH RESULTS:
  Brief Record
  Subjects/Content
  Full Record
  MARC Tags


  Headings List
  Titles List
  Titles List (Keyword)
  References/Scope Notes
  Save, Print, Email

  OTHER TOPICS:
  Headings List Types
  Material Types
  Database Selection
  Icons, Buttons & Tabs
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Title Begins With (omit initial article)

A Title Begins With search requires a user to enter the title of a work in exact order beginning with the first word. Title searches find the main title of a single work (I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings); the main title of a periodical or serial (New York Times, Journal of Food Quality); and, the title of works in a series (Time-Life Student Library).

Title Begins With retrieves materials by title in the exact word order of the search.
Title Begins With screen

NOTE:
Search limits
are available.
Boolean operators (AND, OR, NOT) are not available.

Title Search Examples:

To retrieve the Title . . . You can enter. . .
The Name of the Rose name of the rose
Flatland: a romance of many dimensions flatland
Symphony, no. 39, in E flat, K. 543. symphony no 39 in e flat
2001 : a space odyssey. 2001 a space
"Surely you're joking, Mr. Feynman!" : adventures of a curious character surely youre joking
Dictionary of Literary Biography dictionary of literary biography
¿Cómo es la luna? como es la luna

Search Tips:

  • Always omit initial articles (a, an, the, das, el, la, etc.) in any language.
  • Always omit initial punctuation in any language (e.g., quotation marks, ¿). Also, replace other punctuation with a space. (Exception: drop apostrophes and close up the space.) See examples, above.
  • If searching the full title does not produce satisfactory results, enter only the first few words of the title.
    • crito (for Crito; a Socratic dialogue or Crito; or, A dialogue on beauty )
    • dr jekyll (for Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde or Dr. Jekyll agus Mr. Hyde)
    • new directions in ed (for New directions in education)
    • what do you care what (for What do YOU care what other people think?)
  • Try alternate forms of title words:
    • initials, acronyms, abbreviations (e.g., us or united states)
    • numbers (e.g., 10 or ten)
    • one word or two (e.g., healthcare or health care)
    • spelling variations (e.g., color or colour)
    • similar concepts (e.g., british or english)
    • word variations (e.g., email or e-mail)
  • Searches are automatically truncated and retrieve catalog records that begin with the words or phrases you enter. Do not use the question mark (?) for truncation.

Alternative Search Options:

When the exact title word order is not known, try a Title Keyword search, which allows the user to enter multiple words from the title of a work in any order, crossing subfields. In addition try Expert Search or Guided Search using the words of the title you do know with Boolean operators (e.g., yearbook AND anthropology).

Use the browser's [Back] button to resume searching.

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July 1, 2008